Three Stars: September 30-October 6

Even PSU's Cooperall phase deserves to be remembered

3. Men's Hockey Media Day - Sights and Sounds
(GoPSUSports.com)

Much like with the women last week, I figured I could link 38 stories using the quotes given at last week's media day, or I could just give you the raw material.

PS. Is it just me, or is "sights and sounds" a really, really stupid label for something about a media day? Sights: People sitting behind a table and a microphone. Sounds: People talking. It's not a carnival.

2. Good Life: Q&A with Guy Gadowsky
(Centre Daily Times)

I've had sort of a mancrush on Guy Gadowsky ever since he revealed his music tastes to Pennsylvania Puck a while back, but I don't think I truly "got" him until recently. This interview, while good, doesn't break a ton of new ground - although this caught my attention:

We’re still very young and, obviously, competing against the programs in the Big Ten that we are, we’re not looking at expectations in terms of wins and losses. We certainly have very high expectations to continue to build on that foundation and areas that we can control.

Raise your hand if, the first time you heard him say something about laying and/or building on a foundation, you expected him to still be saying it heading into his third season at PSU. I didn't. But now, I don't really expect him to ever stop, which is something I can certainly appreciate. You could probably rephrase it as "take care of the little things and the big things (the wins and losses) take care of themselves," a line often attributed to one former Penn State coach.

1. How Penn State hockey got here
(Big Ten Network)

Finally. Someone who gets it with respect to PSU hockey history. His name is Jeremy Woo, and you can thank him by giving him a click and read.

For what it's worth, I did my part by a) linking it and b) arranging for this tribute.

Best of the Rest

Freshman goalie Eamon McAdam, during his first appearance in a full PSU uniform

A closer look at the players between the pipes for Penn State ice hockey in 2013-14
(Stack the Pads)

PennLive goalie expert Derek Meluzio gives his take on the men's crease situation, sure to be a major topic of discussion as the season gets underway.

Fans Flock To Pegula Ice Arena For Midnight Practice
(StateCollege.com)

A nice wrap up on the men's midnight practice Friday night/Saturday morning from Ben Jones, including a photo gallery.

Captain Practice A Unique Wrinkle As Season Approaches
(StateCollege.com)

Jones earned the rare double with a nice feature on how the team deals with the fact that the NCAA doesn't allow full practices until one week before most teams begin the regular season.

In move that alters landscape of college hockey, Pegula proud to unveil new era at Penn State
(Associated Press)

This one made it in more because it's an AP story that received heavy distribution than due to anything particularly fabulous about it, but I did like this quote near the end from Joe Battista:

“Someday, wouldn’t it be great to turn on the television and see Penn State play Alabama in ice hockey?”

Not if Nick Saban is allowed anywhere near that program.

PSU All-Sports Museum's Hockey Exhibit to Open Oct. 11
(GoPSUSports.com)

In last week's Three Stars, I shared a photo gallery of the new hockey exhibit at the All-Sports Museum. I thought it was open then, but apparently, it opens Friday.

Big Ten Network Makes Investment in College Hockey
(New York Times)

This one ought to get people talking:

If college hockey takes off on television, Minnesota Coach Don Lucia said he hoped two more Big Ten institutions might add the sport.

The Big Ten associate commissioner Jennifer Heppel, who oversees hockey, said she would not rule out adding associate members for hockey alone, as the conference did for Johns Hopkins in lacrosse, though not soon.

“It’s hard to predict the college landscape right now, especially Division I,” she said.

Nebraska-Omaha or UNO or Omaha or whatever they're calling themselves these days has always been tossed out as a possible Big Ten affiliate member, due to being part of the University of Nebraska system that also includes Big Ten member Nebraska-Lincoln. I suppose the same logic puts Minnesota-Duluth out there as well.

Freshman David Thompson is expected to play a big role on the Penn State blueline

Blueline depth bodes well for Penn State
(The Daily Collegian)

The Collegian is over halfway through a comprehensive and well-conceived ten-article season preview for the NCAA men. The first entry is linked above, and here are the others out so far:

B1G and Pegula will help lure recruits
Offense looks to improve with depth and experience
Potential NHL talent factor in to this season and future
Student Section looks to terrorize opposition
Penn State's nine most formidable foes
Penn State eyes underdog role with tough schedule

With the season already underway for many teams and about to be there for the rest, similar efforts are all the rage. Here are a few more...

Penn State Men’s Hockey Season Preview
(PSU ComMedia)

It really is pretty refreshing to see people finally treating the Nittany Lions like an actual hockey team and not just a... oh wow, Pegula Ice Arena is amazing, you guys. The Collegian's on board with that, as is ComRadio's Ross Insana, who checked in with his version of a men's preview.

Insana also wrote a column regarding PSU's size and physicality. We sure do have some big hombres on the squad, especially up front.

2013-2014 Big Ten Preview: Individual Awards
(Western College Hockey Blog)

WCHB - which still hasn't been re-named, despite its now-national scope - took a fairly predictable approach with respect to their guesses at Big Ten awards by largely ignoring PSU other than tossing the two recent NHL draft picks on the all-rookie team.

Penn State Season Preview
(USCHO)

Flipping over to the women, USCHO hit the Nittany Lions in their team-by-team previews and highlighted the fact that Penn State didn't really get run out of the rink by anyone in NCAA year one.

“The fact that we were there in those games, with so many close contests last year, to me was a very pay-it-forward type thing,” [Josh] Brandwene said. “We’re looking to get better defensively, we’re looking to get better offensively. We want to improve every day and build upon the opportunity we had last year to be competitive and then take it to the next level.”

Penn State Women’s Hockey: Season Preview
(Victory Bell Rings)

VBR's Mary Clarke (who did a phenomenal job tweeting the women's games over the weekend, make sure you're following her), had this to say:

Last year, Penn State surprised some people with their resilience and overall team tenacity. This year, look for the team to improve overall, with a few new additions to the forward core, a new face on the blue line, and a strong goaltending team in net. Keeping the opponent’s shots on goal to a minimum and increasing their own shots towards the net, in my opinion, will be a key to their success this season.

Also, she called me lovely, which made me feel pretty good about myself.

Blue Liner Notes: ACHA Teams Get Underway
(Black Shoe Diaries)

IcersGuy began his weekly rundown of UPark's four teams for the season with a look back at the opening series for the Women's Ice Hockey Club and the Ice Lions.

Robert Morris extends Colontino through 2016-17
(USCHO)

In an abbreviated "opponent news" section, RMU women's coach Paul Colontino received a two-year contract extension. Colontino is just beginning his third season and, in 2012, led the Colonials to the CHA playoff title.

Lofty goals for Robert Morris hockey this season
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Over on the men's side, Derek Schooley's gang will come into the season motivated by their NCAA Tournament at-large bid near-miss last season. RMU was left out of the show despite wins over Quinnipiac (the eventual tournament runners-up who spent most of the season ranked number one) and in the Three Rivers Classic title game over perennial power Miami.

Welcome, Josh Healey!
(Deadly Nuts)

Deadly Nuts recently completed a series profiling Ohio State's freshman, and it's pretty fantastic. Possibly because other people care about annoying things like "copyright infringement" (sounds like a made up thing to me), both this post and the entire blog are illustrated with MS Paint cartoons. And I've said it before, but the writing is sort of what I was/wanted to be before I lost my edge sometime in 2011 and started writing dry recaps of other people's work once a week.

I picked Healey to link because he's from that PSU recruiting hotbed of Edmonton, AB and because he played with Dylan Richard for Canada West at last year's World Junior A Challenge.

Robert Pelletier vs Conor Garland Sep 22, 2013
(YouTube)

Once in a while, something reminds me that I never deleted my "Conor Garland" Google alert. Finally, this time around, I succumbed to my morbid curiosity. So I went to look up something about him that I could use here and found... a fight video. Didn't expect that. If you're hoping to see the diminutive Garland take a Boogaard vs. Fedoruk-level beatdown (admittedly, I was) you'll be disappointed, but he eats a high enough number of quality blows for me to keep it in.

Anyway, in a partial 2012-2013 season for the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats (26 games), Garland had six goals and 17 points for a club that went 42-23-3 but was bounced in the first round of the playoffs. So far this year, Moncton is 4-6-0 with Garland's 11 points placing him third on the team in scoring. He's eligible for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but at 5'7", 170 pounds opinions on where he'll go are mixed, even with his ridiculous skill level.

Sophomore Jordin Pardoski and her teammates were wound up after beating Vermont

@JordinPardoski
(Twitter)

Jordin Pardoski, reporting from the bus on the way back from the tie-win weekend in Vermont:

This maaaaaay or maaaay not be the first bus ride where NO ONE is sleeping #WoundUp

Midnight in a Perfect World

Here are a few photos from the midnight practice held by the Nittany Lion men Friday night/Saturday morning at Pegula Ice Arena to officially get the season underway. All are by and courtesy of Steve Hass. Click on any one to open the gallery view.

Redshirt junior forward Max Gardiner

Sophomore forward David Glen

Freshman goaltender Eamon McAdam

Sophomore defenseman Connor Varley

Freshman defenseman David Thompson

The remainder are posed shots from the public skate that followed practice.

McAdam

Freshman forward David Goodwin

Freshman defenseman Mike Williamson

Redshirt sophomore forward Eric Scheid

Men's Jersey Countdown: #34 Eamon McAdam

Freshman - Goaltender - 6'2" - 185 pounds - Perkasie, PA

Eamon McAdam enters his freshman season as probably the most heralded recruit in the Nittany Lions' short history. His size, athleticism and hockey IQ have drawn comparisons to the Buffalo Sabres' Ryan Miller, while several NHL Entry Draft publications tabbed him as a future starting NHL goalie. In June, he became the first Penn Stater taken in the draft while affiliated with the school, as the New York Islanders selected him in the third round, 70th overall. McAdam has a reputation as a big-game player, thanks largely to his World Junior A Challenge gold medal, his Junior Club World Cup silver medal (and outstanding goalie award from the tournament) and his USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game MVP trophy. All of that said, the former Waterloo Black Hawk will still have to earn his playing time, as he steps into a goaltending situation that was a team strength last season, thanks to Matt Skoff and P.J. Musico.

Career Statistics (with USHL Waterloo Black Hawks):
Season	GP	GS	Min.	Record	GA	Saves	GAA	Sv%	SO
2010-11	4	3	189:34	2-2-0	11	87	3.48	0.888	0
2011-12	23	19	1148:59	11-7-0	67	502	3.50	0.882	0
2012-13	31	29	1806:12	17-9-3	104	895	3.45	0.896	2
USHL Career	51	48	3144:45	30-18-3	182	1484	3.47	0.891	2

Three Stars: August 12-18

3. 150 Miles for a Cure...
(Bike MS)

Women's assistant Casey McCullion is once again participating in the 150-mile-long Bike MS City to Shore ride to fight multiple sclerosis, which takes place this year on September 28th and 29th. I'll let her do the talking from here:

I've registered for Bike MS because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed, including my friend from Holy Cross (and riding buddy) who lives with MS every day. I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Just as I did last year, I am dedicating my ride to him and hope that he will be able to join me (even if it's just for a few training rides)! Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

She's only $205 away from her fundraising goal... just saying. If you listened to me last time and donated, thank you. If not, please consider it if you're able.

2. @B1GHockey
(Twitter)

Confirming earlier reports, the Big Ten has officially announced its hockey media day:

The site of media day will be Xcel Energy Center which, of course, will also host the inaugural Big Ten tournament from March 20th through 22nd. According to Let's Play Hockey, the event will be held from 9:00 a.m. until noon local time, so 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in the eastern time zone. Interestingly, the NCHC has scheduled its media day elsewhere in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis' Target Center, to be specific) on the same date, in an overlapping window, 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. local. Have fun with that one, actual journalists.

Media day should, in theory, be an interesting glimpse into the type of coverage Penn State can expect from its conference rivals and even its own outlets. However, considering the geographic isolation of the site, the low return on investment for those making the trip from any distance and the nature of PSU hockey coverage to this point, it could wind up being a bunch of Minnesota and Wisconsin writers asking Gadowsky about Pegula Ice Arena. Ain't no such thing as bad publicity, but I'm not expecting to learn anything.

Nittany Lions players involved? Your guess is as good as mine, but one has to think that the letter-bearers (Tommy Olczyk, Nate Jensen and David Glen) are leading candidates, with former Minnesota Golden Gopher and Minnetonka High School product Max Gardiner also receiving strong consideration. Supposedly - I feel like I saw this somewhere, but can't remember where - just one player per team will attend.

1. @D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

Hey, why not?

Best of the Rest

Flames' hockey to don new jerseys for 2013-14 season
(liberty.edu)

Liberty, the Women's Ice Hockey Club's season-opening opponent on September 27th and 28th, is debuting new uniforms this year. They're nothing spectacular, although they are consistent across all five Flames hockey teams (there's your trivia for the week - LU is the only school to have a team in all five ACHA divisions). The only exception to the previous sentence: the D2 women, D2 men and D3 men will wear the wordmark across the chest (as shown above) while the D1 men and D1 women will have the school's new logo front and center:

Tri-City Storm
(Facebook)

What's Kenny Brooks been up to lately? Glad you asked, because the Tri-City Storm, his junior team, caught up with him recently for a quick interview.

Waterloo Black Hawks’ Coach On Islanders’ 2013 Picks
(CBS New York)

I haven't been at this New York Islanders thing long, but WFAN's Daniel Friedman is easily my favorite guy covering the team to this point. He was one of the only people offering anything of substance from the team's development camp last month and now, he's scored an interview with P.K. O'Handley, who coached two 2013 Isles draft picks - Eamon McAdam and Taylor Cammarata - with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks last year.

O'Handley, unfortunately, fell a little flat on his end, giving mostly useless replies. Compare McAdam to an NHL goalie? "He’s a big mobile goalie. I think you could make a comparison to quite a few." How did he stack up in the rotation with Cal Petersen last season? "McAdam was the veteran. It was a unique situation with two draft-eligible goalies. I thought McAdam was good and was rewarded by being drafted." Keep up the good work Mr. Friedman, all you can do is ask the questions.

NTDP Defenseman McAvoy Commits to Boston University
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Long Island native Charlie McAvoy, recently picked for the National Team Development Program U17s, visited Penn State at one point but has opted for Boston University. The 1997-born offensive defenseman will likely join the Terriers in 2015.

UNO hockey trio accused of starting fight with racial slurs
(Omaha World-Herald)

Fun fact: Nebraska-Omaha used to be my favorite NCAA Division I program. So, uh, thanks again Terry.

The essentials of this story (file it all under "allegedly" so I don't have to insert the word in every sentence): On August 3rd, Maverick players Matt White, Alex Simonson and Preston Hodge were involved in a racially-charged altercation outside of an Omaha bar with "a small group of African-Americans" that began with "racial slurs and epithets." Hodge then began pushing a man named Lamar Triplett (who is black, but apparently was not part of the original group and was just walking through the wrong place at the wrong time), and Triplett responded by Derek Boogaarding him. White also threw a punch at Triplett and missed, while Simonson stepped in with the bar parking lot fight equivalent of face washing - shoving other members of Triplett's party.

UNO reacted swiftly, dismissing White and Hodge from the team and revoking their scholarships. Hodge, a freshman defenseman, had yet to suit up for the Mavs, but White is a particularly tough blow to the team as a co-captain and close to a point-per-game player for his career. Senior defenseman Simonson, apparently the least involved of the three, has been suspended pending further investigation. Court appearances for all three and Triplett on their disorderly conduct citations are scheduled for September.

@MiHockeyNow
(Twitter)

Michigan coach Red Berenson, for the record, is 73 years old. The photo above was taken at UM's alumni game a couple weeks ago.

NCHC to Use Shootout in Regular Season Contests
(NCHC)

I'd love to make fun of the fact that the NCHC will be using shootouts, but the Big Ten is using them too, so that's off.

Honestly though, it's not the worst thing ever in my opinion. Shootout games will count as ties for national purposes, most notably, the PairWise Rankings and NCAA Tournament selection, with the extra points awarded to shootout winners only applying towards the conference standings. I suppose that opens the door for someone to win a regular season title over someone else due to being better at shootouts, but how often will that actually happen? The price might be worth having a winner and a loser for every game, as artificial as it may be.

In other, more anticlimactic NCHC news, the new conference has officially been recognized and awarded a tournament autobid by the NCAA.

At World Junior camp, Big Ten had a big representation
(USCHO)

Nine of the 31 players surviving to the end of the recent World Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, NY go to Michigan, Minnesota or Wisconsin. That bodes well for the size of the Big Ten's delegation to Team USA for this season's World Junior Championships.

Details announced about Frozen Frontier hockey event
(WHEC)

CHA rival RIT is the latest college program to get in on outdoor hockey, as the Tiger women will play Clarkson at Rochester's Frontier Field (normally home to the Rochester Red Wings of minor league baseball) on December 14th. RIT's men, who also play Penn State in 2013-2014, will cap the doubleheader against Niagara that evening.

An AHL game between the Terry Pegula-owned Rochester Americans and the Lake Erie Monsters on December 13th is both the launch point and the centerpiece of the ten-day Frozen Frontier festival.

Penn State Ranks 19th in Merchandise Royalties
(Onward State)

PSU's Collegiate Licensing Company merch ranking is 19th this year. That's down from 12th last year, but all things considered, not too bad. Now if only the idiots out there could stop celebrating the drop because they think it scores points in their crusade against Rodney Erickson and the Board of Trustees.

I'll be honest: I'm not ready for this anyway

Maryland's move to Big Ten at a cost of tens of millions
(CBS Sports)

Can we all agree to stop dropping Maryland as a potential NCAA hockey candidate for a while? They're bleeding, rather profusely. Even accounting for the Big Ten's rather large checks soon to be headed their way, it's going to take them a bit to get to the point where hockey will even be on the table.

Anything's possible with a billionaire in your corner? I suppose, but at the same time, Penn State's athletic department was completely healthy and turning a profit in 2010. If 2013 Maryland fell into $102 million, they would probably want to do something other than build a hockey rink with it. Just saying.

Code of Conduct Violation Grounds KSU for 2013-14
(HockeyYall.com)

Back in 2005, Georgia school Kennesaw State almost had NCAA Division I hockey. Seriously. However, there's quite a bit of distance between then and now, as the still-ACHA Division 3 Owls have been suspended for the 2013-2014 season due to "misbehavior involving alcohol" at the D3 national tournament last season.

Wisconsin Recruit Dvorak to Sign with London of OHL
(Western College Hockey Blog)

As far as I can tell, it's sort of against the college hockey code to laugh when major junior poaches a recruit from a rival - it's a problem we all face together, and your school could easily be next. Nevertheless... hahahahahaha.

The recruit in question here is ex-future Wisconsin Badger Christian Dvorak. He's a 1996-born, 2014 NHL Draft eligible who played midget major for the Chicago Mission AAA last year. Instead of going to UDubs in 2014 as originally planned, Dvorak will sign with the OHL's London Knights (incidentally, the team that holds Eamon McAdam's CHL rights) and leave the Badgers extremely shorthanded at forward. Which is fine by me, since PSU might have needed Thomas Welsh to defend against him.

Pegula Ice Arena - Interior
(oxblue.com)

Let's close this out with a quick check on the first-ever ice building process at the arena, which began on Friday.

Workers have been on the floor each day since then as well, resulting in the above photo from 11:28 Sunday night. With a couple layers down, the familiar white color will follow early this week, with more layers and markings after that. And then, in a couple days, a playing surface for hockey games. Cool.

Three Stars: July 22-28

3. Southeast Schedules and What They Mean for 2013-14
(Twisted Thoughts)

While the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions have yet to release a 2013-2014 schedule, several opponents - MACHA rivals Delaware, Virginia Tech and Liberty most recently - have. Here's what we now know of PSU's upcoming slate as a result:

October 26, 2013 - vs. Delaware
November 2, 2013 - at Delaware
December 8, 2013 - vs. Maryland-Baltimore County
January 10, 2014 - at Liberty
January 11, 2014 - at Virginia Tech
February 1, 2014 - at Maryland-Baltimore County
February 7-8, 2014 - at Navy Crab Pot (D1 Navy, D1 Towson, Maryland)
February 14-16, 2014 - at MACHA Playoffs
February 23-24, 2014 - at Southeast Regionals
March 21-25, 2014 - at ACHA National Tournament (Marlborough, MA)

The second-year Women's Ice Hockey Club, which is joining the new College Hockey East women's league with California (PA), West Chester and Delaware for 2013-2014, also has a few games out there, thanks to the schedule releases of both the Blue Hens and Michigan State.

October 19, 2013 - vs. Michigan State
October 20, 2013 - vs. Michigan State
November 16, 2013 - at Delaware
November 17, 2013 - at Delaware
December 7, 2013 - vs. Delaware
December 8, 2013 - vs. Delaware
February 21-22, 2014 - at CHE Playoffs (York, PA)
March 13-16, 2014 - at ACHA National Tournament (Newark, DE)

Notably, the December 8th Delaware game will be played at Galactic Ice in Altoona. Guess PIA isn't solving everyone's ice time issues after all.

2. The debate: players discuss CHL vs. NCAA
(The Daily Collegian)

Tackling something like a CHL vs. NCAA article is a tough task, because it's been done so often that it's difficult to find a fresh angle to bring to the table. But Matt Nestor has pulled it off by writing for a general Penn State audience that might not be familiar with The Choice while also bringing in quotes from guys like Luke Juha and Guy Gadowsky, both Canadians who played or are playing NCAA hockey.

Juha is a particularly insightful source as a guy who was once considered a potential late-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Electing for college over major junior probably hurt his stock in the short term, and he went undrafted. But Juha seems to believe that he'll ultimately be a better player because of college hockey, with a better shot of making it as a pro. And I believe that he's right.

1. Head Coach Morris to step down
(ohiobobcatshockey.com)

Andrew Largeman, Zach Braff's character in the movie Garden State, memorably said:

"You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grew up in isn't really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you put your shit, that idea of home is gone... You'll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it's gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It's like you feel homesick for a place that doesn't even exist. Maybe it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start."

That's how I'm starting to feel about ACHA Division 1. Maybe the process is a bit more gradual and less traumatic than it was for Largeman, but it's there nevertheless, because the simple fact is that after you remove yourself from a place, it still continues to evolve without you.

The ACHA will look a lot less like it did when we left without legendary Ohio coach Dan Morris, who is stepping down after 12 seasons, 344 wins and the 2004 national championship. Given that he also played for the Bobcats between 1993 and 1997 (winning three more national championships during those years) and then was an assistant coach under Craig McCarthy between graduation and taking over as the head guy, it's a no-brainer to call Morris one of the most important figures in the history of one of the ACHA's most important programs. Of course, he was also the Icers' archnemesis for all but the final one of those years on the wrong side of the greatest rivalry in ACHA history - including the 2004 title game win over PSU that ended Joe Battista's dynasty of four straight and five in six years.

No Dan Morris, Illinois' Chad Cassel departed a year ago, Minot State apparently wins the Murdoch Cup now... it doesn't feel like home anymore. And to be honest, neither does NCAA Division I and the Big Ten just yet, but it will. We have to evolve too, after all.

Best of the Rest

Eddie Quagliata and Matt Welch model Illinois' new jerseys...who says there's no "I" in "team?"

Just a year in, head coach Fabbrini hires another assistant
(The Daily Illini)

Let's stick with the ACHA for a minute, because it was quite a week for IllinoisWatch.

First, last Monday, the school's student paper published a write-up on new Illini assistant coach Blake Sorensen, who seems to believe that the program would consider going DI, and claims that belief was part of the reason he took the job: "Maybe I’m thinking out of the box, but I’m thinking the U of I would be the next school having the aspiration of going to the next level. So I said, ‘Why not?’ It was a very easy decision." That's either your garden-variety pipe dream or he knows something, take your pick, but I don't remember Billy Downey saying anything like that when he was hired as an Icers assistant in 2008.

That, by itself, is interesting but hardly A Thing. However, mostly-spam Twitter account @USCollegeHockey fanned the flames three days later: "May we have BREAKING NEWS soon? We were 1st to report Penn St.'s ascent to D1. Is another top ACHA team making the jump? Details soon..." They didn't specify that they were referring to Illinois, which is a pretty effective technique in the world of rumor mongering (PS. Someone will die of heart disease today. Because I can see the future.)

For the record, I don't know if @USCollegeHockey was first on Penn State in August and September of 2010. And I don't care. You know who I credit as being first? The Harrisburg Patriot-News' David Jones, who noted Terry Pegula's windfall from the Royal Dutch Shell sale in May 2010 and connected it to the idea of Penn State hockey a few days later. Accuracy and fresh insight over unchecked speed, every time.

Anyway, "soon," evidently, was Saturday evening, when @USCollegeHockey jumped back in with "Remember that BREAKING NEWS we mentioned on Thursday?" and attached a screengrab of a Facebook status (since deleted).

From there, the predictable played out. People overreacted, some commented on how it would be a great idea (it would be), Let's Play Hockey patted themselves on the back over the Jimmy John's rumor they advanced a couple years ago, and real journalists like Matt Slovin and Chris Peters got to work, ultimately taking about 90 minutes to confirm that the Facebook post had to do with the sale of the team's new jerseys.

There's an important lesson, which should have been learned from Penn State, that also needs to be applied here. PSU's process took five years from the initial Battista-Pegula dinner. Along the way, people talk, toes are dipped in the various pools and feasibility studies are conducted. And any one of those occurrences, which repeat themselves many, many times throughout those five years, has the potential to become an "OMG IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN!!!" tweet. Just as a rumor doesn't mean something is imminent, the short-term dismissal of a rumor doesn't mean that the information wasn't a legitimate hint, just applied incorrectly or prematurely. Illinois probably has explored the idea of NCAA hockey, and they probably will have an NCAA program someday. There's been an awful lot of smoke, and it's increased in volume recently. But I'm fairly sure that when it does happen, @USCollegeHockey won't be the first to tell us.

Portland, ME's newly-renovated Cumberland County Civic Center will host the 2015 Ice Breaker

@Chris_MJH
(Twitter)

Last week, Notre Dame was awarded the 2014 Ice Breaker (a season-opening four-team tournament presented by College Hockey Inc.) while Maine grabbed the 2015 version. And almost immediately, the rumor mill fired up.

Hearing Michigan, Michigan St., Penn St & BC are possible teams to take part in '15 IceBreaker.

Just as a reminder, since this seems like an appropriate spot: way back in January 2012, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that the Nittany Lions had signed on for the 2014 Brice Alaska Goal Rush. The Goal Rush is another season-opening tournament, hosted by Alaska and always including their dumpster fire of a neighbor in Anchorage. This year's field - Denver and Western Michigan are the two "outside schools" - was announced on November 16, 2012, so we might hear confirmation on that one relatively soon.

150 Miles for a Cure...
(Bike MS)

Coming up on September 28th and 29th, women's assistant Casey McCullion will once again go on a bike ride to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis. Please consider supporting her and the cause if you're able. And yes, I'll remind you again.

Pro New York Sports Exclusive: Eamon McAdam
(Pro New York Sports)

Know what I like seeing in a player? This, from Eamon McAdam:

I want to help the team progress as fast as possible and by my second or third year I want to give the team here a chance to go for a National Championship. This may seem like a lofty goal but the age old expression of championships are won with goaltending is true in my eyes and if I put in enough work I am hopeful I can give the team a chance no matter who we’re playing.

Check Gadowsky's track record, especially with a Princeton program that had/has a lot less behind it than what's in place at Penn State. Kid ain't crazy.

New York Islanders 2013 draft review
(Hockey's Future)

Your second dose of Big Mac comes through a roundup of Garth Snow's 2013 draft picks. If you're like me and are now trying to follow the Isles a little bit, it's probably good to check things like this out once in a while.

Ohio State's dumping of Mark Osiecki has continued to prove costly

Magyar chooses Kitchener Rangers over Ohio State
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Ohio State's firing of coach Mark Osiecki back in April... yep, still an absolutely terrible decision. The latest evidence: Ohio native and Cleveland Barons product Nick Magyar, a Buckeye commit who played for Sioux City and the National Team Development Program in the USHL last season, has signed with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers and blowtorched his college eligibility. Magyar is just the latest in a growing line of Osiecki recruits to flee, including Nolan Valeau, Cliff Watson and Zach Stepan.

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Unveiled
(USA Hockey)

This year's U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame class lacks the direct Penn State connection of the 2012 group featuring Eddie Olczyk, but it's still a robust collection headlined (for our purposes) by Ron Mason. Mason coached at Lake Superior State (1967-1973), Bowling Green (1974-1979) and Michigan State (1980-2002), won the 1986 national title with the Spartans, and was the winningest coach in college history (924 victories) until he was passed by Jerry York last season. He was also among the hockey giants surveyed for quotes distributed to the press on September 17, 2010, for whatever that's worth:

“I think it’s wonderful that Penn State will have Division I hockey. I’ve long thought that if Penn State ever decided to elevate its program that it would be a school that would challenge for championships. This is a good move for the school and for college hockey.”

Jake Gardiner, a Maple Leafs defenseman and Max's brother, is among the U.S. Olympic hopefuls

Men's National Team Orientation Camp Roster Set
(USA Hockey)

Arguably the biggest story in the hockey world last week was the release of Olympic team camp rosters by most of the countries expected to contend in Sochi, Russia next year. Team USA's version includes a pair of Penn State siblings in Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner and Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad, and yes, we're going to keep living vicariously through those guys until there are Nittany Lions in the show.

The 48-man camp roster will eventually be cut to 25, so Saad and Gardiner certainly aren't home yet, although both are strong contenders for selection.

Glen Gulutzan happy to return 'home' with Canucks
(Vancouver Sun)

Glen Gulutzan, one of the more prominent members of the Guy Gadowsky coaching tree (Gadowsky coached Gulutzan with the WCHL's Fresno Falcons in 1996-1997 and 1998-1999), has joined John Tortorella's Vancouver Canucks staff. Gulutzan, last time we checked in on him, was being fired as head coach of the Dallas Stars after two seasons, so it's nice to see him land on his feet.

@BillRiga
@KeeferJ_
(Twitter)

The leading Twitterdrama last Tuesday: assistant coaches acting butthurt for really, really stupid reasons. First, there's the case of Quinnipiac's Bill Riga, subtweeting QU blog From the NIP to the Bank for having the audacity to predict the Bobcats' lineup for the coming season (forwards, defense/goalies).

Love people who have our line-up and freshmen predicted. I don't even know and I've seen them all play a lot. #smarterthani

Someone needs to look up the definitions of "prediction" and "know" and note the differences.

Jerry Keefe of Northeastern skipped snark and went straight to fury. His target? The Providence Journal's Mark Divver, whose horrific crime was tweeting that new Providence College commit Spenser Young, a defenseman at Phillips Exeter Academy, held an offer from Keefe's Huskies. Time to rumble.

Divver wisely bowed out at that point, but in Keefe's estimation, Twitter still wasn't safe - after all, there were people making innocuous "don't see that every day" comments about the Keefe-Divver exchange to straighten out.

@smclaughlin9 @MarkDivver don't like when people tweet false info to make a hockey program look bad. We all work to hard for that.

Yeah, you (may have) lost out on a highly-sought-after (heavy hitters Boston College, Yale and New Hampshire also whiffed on Young, according to Divver) recruit. Brutal. Your program looks absolutely horrible now. But no worries, you're well on the way back, because you don't spread rumors about the media.

@smclaughlin9 @MarkDivver I don't report false info on twitter about you guys and your jobs so don't do about hockey programs and our jobs

Also, don't tell Keefe he's in an argument...

@smclaughlin9 @MarkDivver it's not an argument it's a point I feel strongly about.

...or that he melted down.

@FearTheTriangle @TheBUHockeyBlog no meltdowns here!

I beg to differ. The best summation is brought to you by Boston University "blog/Twitter combo without the blog" BurntBoats.

Moving On
(From the NIP to the Bank)

Finally, best wishes in blogger retirement to Luke Devoe, who is stepping aside from his aforementioned work on Quinnipiac.

I don't feel a true kinship with too many bloggers out there (which isn't to say that I don't respect and enjoy their work or like them as human beings). The SB Nation guys have 800 different writers and 20 billion pageviews a month. Other blogs are run by professional journalists as a side project or as part of the coverage of their beat. TYT isn't any of those things, and I don't really identify much with their realities. Devoe was different. Much like him, I'm just a guy who loves hockey, loves his school, and enjoys the artificial level of closeness allowed by doing this. That's why I find his reasons for stopping heartbreaking.

I became blacklisted to a certain extent because, well, I was a little too opinionated during a rough stretch of play. I accepted this, altered my approach, and went on covering the team I love. Recently, a small but similar event occurred. While it would be easy to shrug it off and file it under the "can't make them all happy" category, I simply can't.

Back when things weren't exactly gravy and FTNTTB wasn't on the best of terms with the brass at the Q it was tough receiving sideways stares walking into a venue that I held, and still hold, so near and dear. It was even harder when those stares were coming from some people whose opinion mattered. The labor of love turned into a exhausting game of second guessing and self-censoring, even at times when I truly felt I was right. I just don't feel like doing it again. I concede.

Shame on you, Bill Riga and anyone else who may have contributed to his struggles.

One Year Later: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos

Last July, inspired by the NHL development camp invites received by Nittany Lions David Thompson and Tommy Olczyk, I wrote a post called "Breakout Past: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos." Thompson and Olczyk were included, of course, with the rest of the list filled out by grainy, low-quality black-and-whites of players like Don Coyne and Alon Eizenman scanned from ten-year-old media guides. That's not a knock on those players or the Icers, of course - Mark Scally playing in a pair of NHL exhibition games for the Penguins in 2000 is still the gold standard for "Penn State to the show" as far as I'm concerned - but it did indicate a clear dichotomy of players from PSU's most successful period of ACHA hockey around the turn of the century and the very beginnings of NCAA-level talent at the school, with remarkably little in between. It admittedly felt a bit forced.

It's staggering how far things have progressed in a year. No, it's not all the way there yet. The list doesn't include any active NHLers, and scouring the internet for a couple days just to find not-that-great photos of a couple players (thanks for nothing, Flyers) or none at all of another (thanks for literally nothing, Canucks) seems a little south of the big time. Still, things are moving forward at a fantastic rate.

Just to be thorough, let's start with Olczyk and Thompson.

The most obvious progress has been in the form of Penn State's NHL Entry Draft picks.

[Note: Max Gardiner committed to Penn State in January 2012 and had been drafted by that point, but he wasn't included in last year's post because he hadn't been photographed playing hockey in his Blues jersey.]

Mike, if you want to pop on a Canucks jersey, selfie up, and send it over, I'd be more than happy to update this post.

This month, Koudys, McAdam and Williamson all attended development camps held by the teams owning their NHL rights (Gardiner's team, the St. Louis Blues, does not hold an on-ice camp, although they do bring prospects in for off-ice instruction). They were joined by a pair of teammates invited as free agents, similar to Olczyk and Thompson last year: Matt Skoff with the Flyers and Casey Bailey with the Bruins.

Where will the Penn State-NHL connection sit one year from today? Can't wait to find out.

Nittany Lions Close NHL Development Camps

With the last-to-start, last-to-finish Boston Bruins concluding on-ice activities at their development camp on Sunday, here's a look at how things proceeded for each of the five Penn Staters - draft picks Eamon McAdam (Islanders), Mike Williamson (Canucks) and Patrick Koudys (Capitals), along with free agent invites Casey Bailey (Bruins) and Matt Skoff (Flyers) - who received a crash course in life as an NHLer over the past week.

I'd like to think that part of my value lies in my ability (well, willingness, it doesn't really require talent) to sift through things, pull out the essentials, eliminate the duplication of information, and save you guys from the trouble. With that in mind and under the assumption that you know how to find out who the Capitals' second-line center will be this season or how guys like 2013 top-15 picks Ryan Pulock and Sam Morin looked at their respective camps if you care, the plan here is to limit things to direct coverage and discussion of the PSU guys.

However, I also included links to daily summary articles for each team (even when not discussing our specific interest), just to give an idea of the activities of everyone at the camps, Nittany Lions included. Unfortunately, not all teams updated every single day - or at all - beyond one-on-one interview videos and player-based features well past this post's scope, and there was a ton of variance in how much of the off-ice agenda was shared. Other than what is listed, most camps participated in team-building exercises in the evening, with excursions to see the local baseball team probably the most popular of those.

One more thing before getting started: the first rule of being an obsessive "I need to know everything" blogger is that there's always more out there than is possible for one human to locate. If you know of something I missed (quality photos of Skoff and/or Williamson playing hockey in NHL jerseys would be particularly helpful), let me know in the comments and I'll be more than happy to share, with full credit, of course.

Anyway, here we go...

Vancouver Canucks

Mike Williamson

• On the first full day of camp, July 8th, the Canucks posted a video of drills with Williamson making a cameo (number 71). He's not doing much other than standing there and listening to a coach, but hey, it's something.
• Following the Grouse Grind - a climb up Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver - on July 10th, a brief interview with Williamson was posted on Canucks.com. He said that camp so far was "really good... it's been great so far, and it's good to meet the guys." Williamson then described himself as a defenseman who tries to be physical while moving the puck as quickly and efficiently as possible and also said that his goals for the week involved gauging the team's expectations and the work that needs to be put in to succeed on the highest levels.
• Later that day, the prospects visited the BC Children's Hospital, where Williamson was photographed with Nicole, a six-year-old fighting kidney disease (he's the one leaning on the top of the bed). A few other shots of Williamson on the trip were captured by the Vancouver Sun, including the one above (he's the furthest right) with four-year-old heart patient Mady Keefe.
• At the conclusion of camp, Williamson expressed his gratitude on Twitter:

Sunday, July 7th: Fitness testing, on-ice drills and measurements
Monday, July 8th: Skills testing, MMA training, yoga, scrimmage
Tuesday, July 9th: Skill development, weight training, dragon boat races, cooking class
Wednesday, July 10th: Grouse Grind, visit to BC Children's Hospital
Thursday, July 11th: Open scrimmage
Friday, July 12th: Four-on-four scrimmage, exit meetings

In addition to the regular recaps, Canucks.com also produced live blogs on several days that did a good job integrating their social media presence: July 8 // July 9 // July 10.

---

Washington Capitals

Patrick Koudys

• According to Caps blog The Peerless Prognosticator, Koudys spent July 9th's session partnered with Madison Bowey, Washington's 53rd overall pick on June 30th. The Manitoba native has spent the last two full seasons with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and in 2012-2013 put up 30 points in 69 games. Bowey spoke with the media that day, but shockingly nobody asked him about his development camp d-partner.
• On July 10th, Koudys again was paired up with Bowey for the camp's first scrimmage. However, their Team Red was waxed by Team White 7-3, with video of most of the game's goals available here. On the 3-1 goal beginning 19 seconds in, Koudys allows his man into a good scoring position, although it's unclear if he got a stick on the shot as it came through.
• Team White dominated Team Red for the second time in a row on July 11th, winning that day's scrimmage 4-0. Koudys was again paired with Bowey, and the two were caught napping on White's second goal, scored by Riley Barber (Bowey more so than Koudys). All four goals were captured on video this time around.
• The third scrimmage went to Red, 7-3 (video of all goals here). Koudys appeared - it's not always easy to read numbers on the video, but I believe it's him - to make a careless giveaway on a pass up the middle to lead to White's first goal (seemingly verified by this tweet), and he was in the box for Chandler Stephenson's shorthanded effort to make the score 5-2.
• I would like to make it clear that videos showing only a game's goals tend to not be very flattering to defensive defensemen, and that Koudys likely played much better than what the previous three points indicate.
• Red completed the turnaround with a 6-4 win in the camp-closing scrimmage on July 13th (first period, second period, third period, highlights). Koudys played a steady game from the back end partnering occasionally with Bowey, but mostly with 2013 seventh-round pick Tyler Lewington. On the game's opening goal, Koudys was able to start the rush by knocking a bad D-to-D pass that could have ended in disaster loose at the defensive line for Stephenson to advance with speed, and he was also effective when pinching. Primarily though, he was true to type as a stay-at-home guy who made smart plays under pressure and wasn't afraid to stand people up both entering and exiting zones. He was victimized on the goal that made the score 3-2 for White by a fluky bounce off the post that allowed his man to pound it home and was occasionally drawn out high in the zone, but he made up for any missteps with a couple of outstanding shifts on consecutive penalty kills with his team hanging on to a late one-goal lead.

The Capitals' official updates were largely on video and unfortunately offered little insight regarding the camp's off-ice actvities. So instead, here is The Peerless Prognosicator on three of the six days.

Monday, July 8th: On-ice testing, practices
Tuesday, July 9th: Practices
Wednesday, July 10th: Practices, scrimmage
Thursday, July 11th: Practices, scrimmage
Friday, July 12th: Practices, scrimmage
Saturday, July 13th: Scrimmage

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Philadelphia Flyers

Matt Skoff

• Prior to camp beginning, Stack the Pads covered Skoff's invitation.
• On July 10th, the Flyers prospects participated in their annual Trial on the Isle, a unique development camp tradition that involves a day of participation in beach-based competition and community service events in Stone Harbor, NJ. Skoff's four-man team included 2011 fourth-round draft pick Marcel Noebels, Colorado College defenseman Eamonn McDermott and Erie Otters (OHL) forward Stephen Harper.
• Skoff, thanks to his backwards Penn State hat, was pretty easy to spot in photos and video at Trial on the Isle, including a group shot with him right in the middle taken before things got underway - and it looks like he's bulked up a bit. He also makes a cameo in an Instagram video of the players approaching the beach and elsewhere (see media at the link in the last bullet).
• While it probably wasn't the producer's intent, Skoff is fairly prominently featured in this camp highlight video as he faced shots during drills from some of the team's top prospects. He's the goalie with the dark mask and mostly white pads with the small oval near the top, or number 70 on the rare occasions you can see his back.
• Although he looked to be doing well in the video, there's at least a bit of anecdotal evidence of the opposite, specifically, mentions of players like Morin and Petr Straka scoring quality goals on him. It does need to be said, though, that a free agent invite like Skoff is only newsworthy to Flyers people when he's getting beat by their draft picks/prospects, so we'd be unlikely to hear of more positive exploits.
• Behance.net grabbed the best action shot of Skoff I managed to find.
• Like Williamson, Skoff delivered a wrap-up tweet when it was over, and also gave some insight regarding his apparent beef situation:

The Flyers media relations staff, for the most part, was pretty terrible in their reporting about camp (beyond Trial on the Isle), partly because their attention was ripped away from it by the introduction of free agent signings and former coach Fred Shero's election to the Hockey Hall of Fame. As a result, I relied on TheHockeyGuys.net for July 7th, 8th and 11th. Beyond the official site's July 10th recap, which I did use, they also came through with a nice feature explaining the goals of Philadelphia's camp, and how they differed from previous scrimmage-heavy years.

Sunday, July 7th: Testing, light drills
Monday, July 8th: Practices with position groups separated, light afternoon skate
Tuesday, July 9th: Two on-ice sessions
Wednesday, July 10th: Trial on the Isle
Thursday, July 11th: Practice, grocery shopping and cooking class, camp break

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Boston Bruins

Casey Bailey

• Any information at all on free agent invites can be considered a bonus, as obviously, the team, media and fans are much more focused on their draft picks (and usually just the high ones - even guys like Koudys and Williamson tend to be afterthoughts). Fortunately Hockey's Future poster Alicat provided a nugget from July 13th's session - and a positive one to boot: "Good hands and is an excellent passer. Has some speed. He, [Seth] Griffith and [Anton] Blidh had one rush where they went tick-tack-toe and scored on [Zane] Gothberg. Very reminiscent of [the Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton line]'s passing on odd man rushes."
• HF's DKH called Bailey "noticeable" in a brief collection of end-of-camp thoughts. Encouraging stuff to see, particularly when, as mentioned, the average Bruins observer had little incentive to care about him.
• Besides the picture above, which originated with the Bruins' Twitter account, he was also photographed by Puck Sage while shooting on goalie prospect/famous hockey family member Malcolm Subban.
• During Monday's team-building activities on Thompson Island, Bailey (blindfolded, bottom left) was included in an Instagram collage of a climb up an alpine tower.

Wednesday, July 10th: Practice, testing, social media training
Thursday, July 11th: Skills drills, full practice, cooking class
Friday, July 12th (1, 2, 3): Practices, community service activities
Saturday, July 13th: Running/fitness testing, practices, scrimmages, nutrition class
Sunday, July 14th: Practices
Monday, July 15th: Team building exercises, camp break

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New York Islanders

Eamon McAdam

• The team posted an Instagram video of what they called McAdam's "first drill in an Islanders jersey" on July 9th, the opening day of their camp. Kid can move laterally, which is probably good for a goalie.
• That same day, WFAN's Daniel Friedman asked him about the first thing he noticed when stepping on the ice. The answer: "How strong everybody is. Everyone's bigger, faster, stronger than anything I've ever experienced." (1, 2)
• On July 10th, Friedman mentioned McAdam as a practice standout, and followed up after the close of camp with some impressions: "He was sharp throughout the week. The thing I noticed about him was how fast he moved across the crease and his knack for being square to the shooter... At times, he was a little too aggressive and he certainly has what to work on, but McAdam looked good. Refreshingly, he looked nothing like his pre-draft stats suggested he would. He made a handful of quality saves during the scrimmage, including some fairly tough ones."
• He stopped 28 of 33 shots and took the loss in the open-to-the-public Orange vs. Blue scrimmage on July 11th and was outstanding in the skills competition that followed the game (covered in a separate post). Another opinion on his play there, from This Is Islander Country: "I liked what I saw from Eamon McAdam in net. He gave up a soft goal or two, but the kid is only 18. He played the angles well and moved pretty well laterally in the net. Made a handful of nice saves too. Needs to work on his rebound control a bit, but he definitely looks like a solid goalie prospect."
• Newsday's photo gallery of the event included a great McAdam shot (above).
• All departures are not created equal:

Tuesday, July 9th: On-ice practices, off-ice training
Wednesday, July 10th: On-ice practices, off-ice training
Thursday, July 11th: Morning skate, Orange vs. Blue Scrimmage/Skills Competition
Friday, July 12th: Practices, camp break